Tracking Down Ken M, One of the Internet’s Most Accidentally Prolific Trolls

Ken M is an enigmatic and polarizing figure. Some people call him an idiot. Others call him a fucking genius. If you’ve ever browsed the comment section at Yahoo, the Huffington Post, ABC News, or, you know, any other publication known to man, you might have come across one of his bizarre comments.

His comments are so prolific that he’s developed a cult following. He even has a whole community dedicated to his every online move at Reddit’s Ken M Community.

But until now, nobody knew who he really is or what his motivations are. Ken M has never officially revealed his identity to the public. Is he mentally ill? Is he an artist? Or is he just some bored guy hanging out at home, doin’ it for the lulz?

I tracked down the real Ken M.

As it turns out Ken M, or Kenneth McCarthy, is a 35-year-old copywriter for Comedy Central. He lives in Brooklyn, New York, but he’s originally from Florida. “I grew up a good Catholic boy, in the Deep South,” he told me.

(Kenneth McCarthy/Kenneth McCarthy)

McCarthy describes himself as a news junkie. He used to leave sincere comments on news articles, but hardly anyone responded rationally to what he had to say. “I was appalled by the Yahoo comment section. It was such a toxic, shitty space,” he explained.

So in 2011, McCarthy started writing fake comments as a passive-aggressive way to cope with his frustrations. “I wasn’t that internet savvy. I didn’t even know what trolling was. I just started doing it. I thought, ‘I wonder how idiotic I can be, but still be believable.’ It turned into this weird exercise.”

His efforts paid off. College Humor offered him a column in which he would post as Ken M professionally. Yes, McCarthy had the Internet’s dream job: He was paid to troll. But he canceled the column a year ago. “It became difficult to churn out content. The content started suffering. I started to imitate myself in a desperate way.”

Nowadays, he prefers commenting for fun. His favorite targets? “Yahoo has the most beautifully gullible people. The people on Huffington Post are humorless and pedantic. I tried it with Fox News, but that group is such a furious wasp nest.”

And what about Reddit? “I do know about the sub. It’s so awesome. I’m not a Reddit user. I don’t understand the hardcore culture of Reddit. I always thought they were a lot meaner, like 4chan, but they are so nice to me. The Reddit community seems very thoughtful and smart.”

At first, McCarthy engaged with his fans pretty frequently, but he stopped responding when r/KenM started trending. “Fandom is a little weird,” he describes. “I was uncomfortable. I think most people are uncomfortable with earnest compliments. These kids think I’m famous. I wasn’t trying to be a big mystery.”

McCarthy is not looking for Internet fame. His main goal is simple: He wants to make you laugh. “If I’m going to be pompous about it, it’s an art. But I do other art. What I do is turn a toxic space into a source of belly laughter, so it’s not gross anymore. That’s what I do.”